This Halloween, Mercy Health is offering tips to keep you and your family safe during the time for tricks and treats.
“Taking a few extra moments to recognize and address potential hazards can prevent injuries and ensure the best Halloween possible,” said Hannah Fairchild, Trauma and Burn Education coordinator, Mercy Health – Toledo. “Children are excited on Halloween and may not use good street sense. Make sure a responsible adult helps stays with your child while out and about.”
Whether a trick-or-treater, homeowner, parent or motorist, Halloween can throw some tricks out when we’re hoping for treats. To help ensure an evening of frightful delights instead of potential injuries, Mercy Health offers the following tips:
Trick-or-Treating Safety
- Make sure to stick to a well-lit path like sidewalks when going from house to house.
- Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. Look left, right and left again when crossing and keep looking as you cross.
- Always accompany children under 11 when trick-or-treating and make sure to identify a plan for older kids on curfew and an agreed route to go on throughout their Halloween night.
- Remind children to never go into a stranger’s car or their home.
- Avoid dark colored costumes and wear a glow stick or reflective tape to make sure your child is seen in the dark.
- Make sure costumes are not too long to avoid tripping, as well as opting to wear hats or makeup instead of masks which can obscure your child’s vision.
- Remember to wash all makeup off at the end of the night and test out any makeup that will be used on your child’s face to avoid an allergic reaction.
Halloween Decoration Safety
- Light jack-o-lanterns with LED lights or fake candles instead of using an open flame to avoid fires.
- Keep corn stalks or other house decorations that might be flammable away from light bulbs or open flames if using any sort of candle since they are highly combustible.
- Make sure all decorations are placed in a way that do not cause a potential tripping hazard — including placing extension cords away from the walkway, making sure walkways are clearly lit and making sure fog or other inflatable decorations are secured and away from the door.
Driver Safety Tips
- Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.
- Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
- Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
- Get rid of any distractions – like your phone – in your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
- Turn your headlights on earlier in the day to spot children from greater distances.
- Popular trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Be especially alert for kids during those hours.
Candy and Treat Safety
- Remind kids with food allergies to wait to eat any candy until returning home where you can inspect any candy for allergens.
- Remove any choking hazards collected during the night for younger trick-or-treaters.
- Make sure all candy or treats collected during the night are wrapped and sealed so they are not tampered with.
